CSS facts for kids

CSS is a special code that helps make websites look good! It stands for Cascading Style Sheets. Think of it like the designer for a website. While HTML gives a website its structure (like the walls and rooms of a house), CSS adds all the style. It controls colors, fonts, spacing, and how everything is laid out.

What is CSS?

CSS is a language that describes how HTML elements should be shown on a screen. It tells web browsers how to display text, images, and other parts of a webpage. Without CSS, most websites would look plain, like simple text documents.

How CSS Styles Webpages

CSS works by linking to HTML files. When you visit a website, your web browser reads the HTML to understand the content. Then, it reads the CSS to know how to make that content look nice.

For example, CSS can tell the browser:

• Make all main headings blue.
• Change the font of paragraphs to Arial.
• Add a border around images.
• Place a menu bar at the top of the page.

Why CSS is Important

Using CSS saves a lot of time for web developers. Instead of styling each part of a webpage separately, they can write one CSS rule that applies to many parts. This also makes websites load faster and easier to update. If a website has many pages, changing one CSS file can update the look of all of them at once.

The History of CSS

The idea for CSS came about because web pages were becoming more complex. Early websites used HTML to control both content and style, which was messy.

Who Created CSS?

Håkon Wium Lie, a computer scientist, first suggested CSS in 1994. He wanted a better way to separate the content of a webpage from its design. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which sets standards for the internet, officially released the first version of CSS in 1996.

Håkon Wium Lie, a co-creator of the CSS web standards.

CSS Today

Since its first release, CSS has grown a lot. New versions and features are added regularly, allowing for more complex and interactive designs. Today, CSS is a key part of almost every website you visit. It helps make the internet a colorful and exciting place to explore.

A "snapshot" of CSS standards from 2021, showing its many features.

Other Meanings of CSS

While Cascading Style Sheets is the most common meaning, the abbreviation CSS can also stand for other things:

• Content Scrambling System: This was a way to protect DVDs from being copied easily.
• Counter-Strike Source: This is a popular online video game where players compete in teams.

See also

In Spanish: CSS para niños